Courthouse and Jail House Rocks · Photo: Caddywagon at English Wikipedia · Public domainBridgeport’s library runs 126 programs per 1,000 residents, against a typical 60 for libraries its size
Bridgeport Public Library serves Bridgeport’s 1,448 residents. Last year it lent 10K books, movies and e-books and logged 8,245 visits.
The short version on Bridgeport’s library
More library cards than residents
1,795 cards for 1,448 people. Cards held by people from outside the service area count too, so the total can pass the population. At the typical library serving under 2,500 people, it’s 54%. How it compares ↓
A small-town library
Bridgeport Public Library serves 1,448 residents with about 2 full-time staff, open about 41 hours a week. It’s compared only with libraries serving under 2,500 people, because per-person numbers always look big in a small town. A year at the library ↓
This summary is written from the numbers on this page. Numbers are the library’s own report to the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024; in a town this small, one busy program or a few avid readers move the per-resident numbers.
What’s behind Bridgeport’s civic life grade
On library visits, community nonprofits and volunteering, Bridgeport is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns. All three inputs are above most U.S. towns; Bridgeport’s count of community nonprofits ranks highest.
Civic life counts registered nonprofits, library visits and online volunteering groups, so it can miss civic life that runs through congregations, mutual aid or neighbors looking out for each other.
Library visits: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024. Nonprofits: IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File, October 2026. Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. How TownRatings grades civic life →
14 community nonprofits are registered in Bridgeport
10.4 per 1,000 residents, against a U.S. town median of 3.7. The largest group: youth, sports & recreation.
Community nonprofits, by kind
Counted from the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations by mailing address (fractions where a ZIP code spans towns). Congregations are counted apart (5 here), since whether a church registers depends on its denomination, not the town.
10.9%
10.9% of Bridgeport’s Facebook users aged 25–44 belong to a volunteering or activism group, against 7.9% in the typical Nebraska town and 7.5% nationally.
Volunteering: Social Capital Atlas (Opportunity Insights), from data by Meta Platforms, Inc.; Chetty et al., Nature 2022. ZIP-code figures, weighted by where Bridgeport’s residents live; 2022.
Ahead of most similar-size libraries on all 8 measures
Per resident, against libraries serving under 2,500 people across the U.S.
Bridgeport Public Library serves 1,448 people, so it’s measured against U.S. libraries serving under 2,500.
Every hour the doors are open, about 5 items go out
Fiscal year 2024. The library’s own count.
Mostly books and media off the shelf
10K loans last year: print, kids’ and digital.
Each of the 16K books and other items on the shelves went out about 0.4 time last year, on average.
3,427 e-books, e-audiobooks and streams last year. Borrow from home with your card, plus research databases: courses, journals, genealogy and more.
About 2 kids’ programs a week
Story times, clubs, classes and events, by who they’re for.
Programs last year by age group
story times and programs a week for ages 0–5, on average.
children’s books and media borrowed per child under 18 in Bridgeport last year.
Find it
Bridgeport Public Library, 722 Main Street, Bridgeport.
No late fees. E-books and audiobooks from home. Research databases: courses, journals, genealogy.
New in Bridgeport? The Handbook →Hours are the survey’s yearly average. Check the library’s own site for today’s hours.
For every $1 it spends, the library lends about $1.33 worth
Set what you’d borrow in a month. It starts at what the average Bridgeport cardholder borrows.
Typical for a library this size: $54. Operating budget $128K.
Last year the library lent and hosted about $170K worth of books, e-books, programs and Wi-Fi on a $128K budget.
Fine-free. No late fees on books returned late.
Retail prices are typical, rounded down: a new book $17, a kids’ book $12, an e-book or e-audiobook $15, a movie rental $4, a class or program $10, a computer or Wi-Fi session $3. The average cardholder’s month = the library’s yearly loans, attendance and Wi-Fi sessions ÷ its 1,795 cardholders ÷ 12.
What this data can and can’t tell you
From the Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024.
- The library’s own count. Libraries report their own visits, loans and programs. A library that didn’t respond keeps its address and hours here, with no numbers.
Hours are the survey’s yearly average; libraries are compared with others serving about as many people. How TownRatings uses library figures →
Questions about the library and civic life in Bridgeport
Does Bridgeport have a public library?
Yes. Bridgeport Public Library, 722 Main Street, serves Bridgeport’s 1,448 residents (the survey’s count) and is open about 41 hours a week, averaged over the year.
Is Bridgeport Public Library fine-free? Does it lend e-books?
Yes to both: no late fees, and e-books, audiobooks and research databases with a card (the library’s 2024 survey report).
How busy is Bridgeport’s library?
It logged 5.7 visits and lent 7.0 items per resident in 2024, against a typical 3.5 visits for libraries serving under 2,500 people.
What is Bridgeport’s civic life grade?
A+ Bridgeport is ahead of 95% of U.S. towns on civic life. The grade combines library visits per resident, community nonprofits per 1,000 residents and the share of adults 25–44 in volunteering groups. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Book talk
Reading, story times and the library in Bridgeport.
Libraries: Institute of Museum and Library Services, Public Libraries Survey, fiscal year 2024. Each library reports its own numbers. Distances are straight-line from the town center. “What your card is worth” uses typical retail prices and is an estimate, not an official figure.